BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Libertadores wager is not just based on stereotypes

THERE isn't any live football on Thursday and the live streaming I get doesn't show Spanish matches, so I'm focusing on the Copa Libertadores.

I'm still adapting to some of the subtle betting pitfalls of South
American football but one thing you don't need to be an expert to know is that Colombia is a tough place to go.

Still, it's not just the intimidating stereotypes that make Atletico Nacional a top wager to beat Godoy Cruz.

Atletico beat the superb Universidad de Chile in their only other
group stage game at home so far, where their fans, who clearly put the fan in fanatic, roared them on to a 2-0 win.

I caught a bit of the 4-4 draw between Godoy Cruz and Atletico the other week and was really impressed with the Medellin outfit, who were unlucky with a few decisions but looked threatening every time they went forward.

They look a bit flaky but the lad Dorlan Pabon looked sheer class, while even though I'm sure they don't bag four every week it seemed like most of the forward players had the kind of finesse in front of goal you don't see enough of.

I think Godoy Cruz were fortunate to get away with a draw and they benefited from having a passionate crowd getting on the referee's back after every decision.

Call me a guesser, but I've got a sneakingfeeling it could be a
similar situation in Medellin.